Vikings Release Carlson

The Vikings have officially released veteran TE John Carlson, the team announced on Wednesday.

Carlson, a Minnesota native, signed with the Vikings prior to the 2012 season after playing her first three season in the NFL with the Seahawks. The former Notre Dame star suffered a knee injury midway through training camp in 2012 and though he returned in time for the start of the regular season, he was never able to get in sync with the rest of the offense, catching eight passes in his first season in purple while missing several games due to injury.

He bounced back in 2013 to have a much better season, helping to fill the void left by Kyle Rudolph, who suffered a season-ending foot injury in early November. Carlson caught 32 balls for 344 yards and one touchdown though again missed time to injury, missing the final three games of the season.